Flower babies :)

This year, for the first time in a while, I am gardening. Sort of. Since we live in an apartment, it's not like I'm landscaping a yard or planting a garden plot! I'm using planters.It all began with a few Gerber daisies & Lobelia. 

One thing led to another, one planter somehow became two, and that was the first idea. 

Next, I contemplated how nice it would be to have some basil. And if basil, then there must also be tomatoes, and then I would have almost everything to make that yummy Tomato/basil/mozzarella salad (which is amazing and MUST be made every summer myriad times), and that was the second idea.

On another trip to the store, I was pondering the fact that I had leftover rock (to put in the bottom of the planters to help provide adequate drainage) and leftover potting soil. I browsed over to the clearanced plants and spotted a couple beautiful yellow-y/lilac violas. I bought them and another planter; and that was the third idea.

Last night after work. I had noticed these super cute clay pots with a colored glaze around the middle. I'd had a vague thought about how nice it would be to have some indoor plants, and somehow.. I came home with.. some.

 "Some" in this case means "three":

I love my daisies :) 

And my indoor jungle :)

Stay tuned: There may be a fifth idea that = more plants.

Freezer fruit for summer

On a recent day at home, I finally combined the ingredients I'd been accumulating to make "Frozen Fruit Cups."
The concept is simple: assorted fruit & juice frozen into a refreshing healthier-than-popsicles treat (or a fab breakfast.. or dessert.. or snack for unexpected company..)
I found a couple recipes I liked: Recipe 1 and Recipe 2
I wanted them to be more healthy than desserty, so I looked for fruit canned in fruit juice instead of syrup.

My recipe:
1 can pineapple tidbits, undrained
1 lg can mandarin oranges, drained
1 can mixed fruit (the kind with maraschino cherries + the weird grapes), undrained
2 cans apricot halves, drained & cut into quarters
1/2 a can of thawed orange juice concentrate
3/4 C of water (um.. kind of to-taste? I didn't actually measure...)
a "dash" of lemon juice (I added it until it seemed like it would be refreshingly lemony..)

Combine all ingredients; ladle into muffin pans; freeze until.. frozen; pop out of the pans (I used a knife around the edge to get them loose, then popped them out); transfer to a ziplock or other freezer storage container & store in the freezer until ready to serve.

To serve, set out however many you need, allow them to thaw until they can be broken apart with a fork; serve individually, in a semi-frozen/semi-slushy state :)

I made another batch with 4 bananas (sliced) subbed in for the apricots, and with orange/pineapple/banana juice concentrate instead of regular orange juice.

Loss

My heart is hurting for friends dealing with Loss right now. Lately, it seems like one day after another, there are more stories. Different situations, but the same shared pain. Sometimes I am especially ready to be done with the things that are part of this sin-riddled world :(

When life is going ok, it's easy to get lulled into a sense of security. "My life is going alright for now, all is well in the world." It is when a friend's world touches my placid one that I'm reminded of how, in a world marred by sin, so many awful things become a common occurence.
A baby dies from SIDS; a joyous expectant mother miscarries; a husband is unfaithful; an accident occurs and someone never returns from a trip; pets get sick & must be put down; children battle cancer; a couple learns they will never have any biological children.

It hurts.
The ache lingers.
"I'm so sorry," seems a pitiful offering.

They are held in our prayers, remembered as our tears mingle with theirs.